The Old Dominion men's soccer is set to host the annual ODU Stihl Soccer Classic this weekend, September 13th and 15th. This tournament is one of the most prestigious in the country and always includes some of the nation's best teams.

This year will be no exception as the Monarchs welcome Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, and Colonial Athletic Association rival William and Mary. The action begins on Friday when Coastal Carolina takes on William and Mary at 4:30 before ODU entertains Georgia State at 7:00 in the nightcap. On Sunday Georgia State and William and Mary will take the field at noon with the finale starting at 2:30 between the Monarchs and Coastal Carolina.

Georgia State enters the tournament with a 2-1 record with wins over The Citadel, 4-0, and Lipscomb, 3-1. Paul Scwhak leads the Panther scoring with 2 goals and an assist in three games. Assistant Coach Daniel Ridenhour is a former Old Dominion standout. He graduated a Monarch in 2000 after winning four letters and being named captain of the men's soccer squad. Georgia States is coached by Kerem Daser.

Coastal Carolina has 3-1 wins over Syracuse and Mercer and a 2-0 blanking of IFPW. They also played Hartwick to a 3-3 tie for a 3-0-1 overall record. Mike Littlefield has totaled three goals and one assist to lead his squad into this weekend's tournament. The Chanticleers are coached by Shaun Docking and are currently tied at tenth in their region.

The Tribe of William & Mary are coming off their first victory of the season, a 2-1 win over Florida International last Saturday. The team is now 1-2-0 and features another former Monarch on their coaching staff. Chuck Connelly was an All-CAA perfomer as a goalkeeper for Old Dominion. His 0.79 GAA as a junior in 1999 was tops in the league and 17th in the nation. His is the brother of current Monarch goalie John Connelly. The Tribe are coached by 31 year veteran Al Albert.

Old Dominion will begin the Stihl Soccer Classic with a 1-1-0 record after defeating state rival Va. Tech 3-2 in overtime and losing 2-1 to #22 Wake Forest. Four different Monarchs have scored goals in the young 2002 campaign, including freshman Bamidele Oluwalana (Oslo, Norway) who beat the Hokies with his tally and CAA Player of the Year Attila Vendegh (Bratislava, Slovakia) who had the lone goal against Wake Forest. The Monarchs are lead by head coach Alan Dawson.

In addition to the soccer action by this weekend's teams, the Team Stihl Va. Beach Fire Fighting Combat Team will be on hand during halftime of ODU's Friday night game with Georgia State for special halftime entertainment. Also, the tournament sponsor Stihl, will be passing out free gifts to the first 125 fans at each game.

Tickets for the tournament are $4 a day for adults and $2 a day for children. Call the Old Dominion Ticket Office at 683-4444 for more information.